Situation is slowly improving in Basirhat.
After a week long violence which was sparked at Baduria in North 24 Parganas district over an ‘objectionable’ post on facebook by a student, peace is returning to the trouble-torn area thanks to the joint initiative of people of both communities.
The violence which had spread from Baduria to various pockets of Basirhat where the population comprises a good mix of both the communities, has left the place tense. Police and Central forces are still deployed at several areas but with every passing day, more shops are being opened and more number of vehicles are seen plying.
Rashidul Haque, a local businessman of Baduria said that it was not a communal clash initially. “On July 3, it was a protest of Muslims here against the administration which did not take steps against the offending student who had put up the post on social media. That very day, a local Muslim leader here, Abdul Matin, through a video message on Whatsapp had told people here that ‘not a drop of blood of either a Hindu or a Muslim should be shed’,” he said, sharing the video message with DNA.
Some local residents had been trying to make amends since Saturday. “Whatever has happened on July 3 was uncalled for. A facebook post should not have unleashed such violence. The authorities should have been alerted instead. We are sorry for our brothers of other community who have suffered losses. We will collect money and compensate for all the damage to property that they have suffered,” said Md Irshad Ali Gaji, a resident of Basirhat. Ajay Pal and Rama Dey, two shop owners at Trimohini Crossing, one of the most sensitive areas of the Basirhat. Their shops had been vandalised and they have already received Rs 2000 each from Gaji.
Md Irshad Ali Gaji (right) and Binoy Kumar Pal (Arshad Ali)
Binoy Kumar Pal, an area local and businessman said that he lived in a bordering area with people of two different communities living on either sides. “I was apprehensive whether stay at my place or to take my family away. I called up Gaji at night on July 3. He assured me that I could live without any fear and that he would not let anything happen to me and my family,” he told DNA.
Gopinath Mondal, teacher of a local school in Baduria said that there had never been any communal clash there, not even when Babari Masjid was brought down. “We had been living peacefully here and I would appeal to everyone to restore peace. Attacks and counter attacks will only lead to our misery,” he said.
In a joint meeting of members of both the communities on Saturday it had been decided that a joint night guard team will be formed to guard the area from unwanted external elements. “It has also been decided that no outsider would be given shelter by anyone of the locality. “Among ourselves we have decided that till situation normalise, during namaz the Hindus will guard the masjids of the locality and when they offer prayers at temples, Muslims will keep the place secure,” said Gaji.
Senior citizens of Barasat partook in a rally organised by a local club on Sunday spreading the word of communal harmony. The 60-plus members of the rally walked from Chapadali crossing to Dak Bungalow crossing. They carried placards with messages for people urging them not to pay heed or spread rumours and to restore peace in the area.
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